Winter by Susan Cohen

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“Winter” by Susan Cohen –  Pasadena, CA, USA
Tied for 2nd Place – ReelHeART Short Screenplay Competition

Bio: Susan Cohen, a Canadian who now resides in Los Angles, is a writer, director, and producer and a graduate of the prestigious American Film Institute Directing Workshop for Women. She has produced several award winning short films. Her AFI DWW short, OPEN YOUR EYES, which she wrote and directed, screened at over 70 film festivals worldwide, winning 35 awards. She recently directed and produced the short, THE MOURNING HOUR, which is currently on the festival circuit and has already garnered several awards and nominations. Susan and her writing partner, Sydnie Suskind, recently sold a pilot script to a network and set up another pilot script with a top tier production company and studio.

Inspiration for Screenplay: WINTER was first inspired by the story of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and her husband. After reading about the profound way that her love manifested I encountered many other stories about couples dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia. I found it fascinating how some husbands and wives were able to let their spouses move on – understanding that their new romantic involvements didn’t lessen their shared love. I found it even more fascinating, though, how the children were not able to accept these new romantic relationships – even when they knew the relationships might improve their parent’s overall health. For me, this was heartbreaking. And I wanted to explore that dynamic. WINTER looks at a mother and daughter’s relationship when the daughter, Kate, finds her mother in a compromising position. Kate must now confront her own feelings of love and abandonment as she tries to fight the feeling of anger that she has towards her mother’s Alzheimer’s.